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In this week's message and with John the Baptist as our example, we will discover a critical key for discovering and fulfilling the purposes that God has for our lives.

John wraps up his Prologue with the implications of the incarnation. What is the significance of Jesus being full of grace and truth? And what does he mean that we have received grace upon grace? That's what we'll discover this week in John 1:14-18.

The Gospel of John stands apart from the other Gospels. While the others serve as a summary or synopsis of the life of Christ, John's Gospel paints a unique portrait of the heart of God. Join us this week as we see the portrait emerge and an invitation extended.

"Greetings, O favored one..." Those were the angels initial words to Mary. Significant words. But words that troubled her a bit. Join us this week as we look at Mary's invitation into the Christmas story and the relevance of those words for us.

The question as we transition from the life of David to the life of Solomon is, "Will he, like his father, be a man after God's own heart?" Join us as we dive into First Kings and discover the secret to a life lived out of wisdom.

The Bible tells the unfolding story of redemption that God has been writing in the world. It is a story that continues to be written individual by individual and generation by generation. As He does so, it is worth asking: Is there a particular kind of person God is looking for? A characteristic they must possess to be gold in the Author's hand? Join us as we explore this question and discover the surprising answer in the book of First Samuel.

The book of Ruth is a story of unwelcome sorrows, unlikely heroes, and unexpected redemption. It follows the life of an Israelite woman named Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth as they navigate an uncertain future as widows in foreign lands.

The life of Jacob is a lesson in the way God pursues the individual as an individual. Your story is not my story. And Jacob's story is not Abraham's story. But all are part of the Story of redemption that is big enough to include us all.

What was it about Abraham that made him one of the Fathers of the Faith? What was so significant about his relationship with God that God would later refer to Himself as the God of Abraham? And Sunday School kids would sing about "Father Abraham" 4,000 years after his death? Find out as we kick off a new series exploring the significant figures and stories embedded in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus.

While Luke is quite clear about many of the factors and characteristics at work in the early church of Acts 2, there is also a universal principle in play that receives no mention. This principle - which operates in both the natural world and spiritual world - is crucial to our ability to experience the abundant life that Jesus promises in the Gospels. Join us this week as we discover this universal principle at its role in our spiritual lives.